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Easter Monday 2010 saw the first official motor race that included Electric Vehicles in the UK. Held at the Historic Goodwood Circuit, Tesla Motors became the world’s first electric vehicle manufacturer to enter competitive motorsport in the UK.

The Goodwood Road Racing Club were first to create a class for an EV and invited Tesla to enter 2 cars in their first sprint of the 2010 season, the GRRC Spring Sprint. This year’s sprint included 9 Classes for Modern and Historic Road and Racing cars as well as Class E for road-legal cars built after 1979 and propelled by an electric motor and solely powered by on-board batteries.

The invitation gave Tesla the opportunity to answer a question asked by EV enthusiasts and petrolheads alike…

How does the Roadster compare on track with petrol-powered sports cars?

A minute feels like an eternity when you are sitting on the start line pointing towards the 100mph entrance to Magwick, the first corner at the historic Goodwood motor circuit; far too much time for contemplation…

This Tesla Roadster does not belong to me.

This is my first dry lap of Goodwood.

I wonder if that old 911 RS has dribbled oil all over the first corner.

Will my boss forgive me if I land upside down in the tyre wall? Probably not!

I look over to my right and see that James, driving the white Roadster Sport, is not at all concerned. He’s busy entertaining the Clark of the course and the Marshalls by blaring Classical FM from the Radio… "See, it does make a noise," he quips.

James Wood, friend of Tesla and vastly experienced professional racing driver, was drafted to drive Car #58. With thousands of laps’ experience of the Goodwood circuit, James was tasked with extracting the best time possible from the Roadster. My brief from Tesla HQ… get around the circuit, don’t embarrass us, and don’t crash!

The start light goes green and James is first to show the spectators and course officials the awesome spectacle of a Roadster launch. All eyes follow James around the track for a moment before returning their focus on bright green car #57. Me. Now it’s my turn.

No messing around with launch control, traction control settings or balancing clutch and engine revs for a clean launch in a Tesla. I simply stamp my right foot, aim for Magwick and try to remember which way the circuit goes.

The timing sheets showed that both Roadsters cut the beam placed 64ft after the start line in a fraction over 2 seconds, bettered on the day only by two (very far from factory standard) Nissans (a GTR and a Skyline) and a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup race car.

Through the first corner and accelerating hard towards Fordwater at just under 120mph with 5mph to go until our limiter, it struck me that most of the other cars were already pulling between 130 and 160mph.If we (I say we and mean James) were to bag ourselves a respectable lap, time lost on the straights was going to have to be made up in the corners.

The Roadster clung on to the tarmac hard through turn one and was flat out through Fordwater. On approach to the unnamed entry to St Mary’s full of confidence, I leave braking a little too late. Re-Gen plus a quick dab of the brakes scrubs off just enough speed to turn in to the corner

Initially it feels like the Roadster’s rear wants to overtake its front before it settles in to nicely balanced slide and point’s itself towards St Mary’s second apex. This infamous corner reputedly ended the career of Stirling Moss. Not wishing to cut my career with Tesla short I thought it best not to fall off here and to get through without drama. I needn’t have worried of course. The Roadster has huge reserves of grip. Its enormous traction let me exploit all 215kw of power to haul the Roadster out of the corners without fuss.

Next up, Woodcote. The circuit guide’s description of a tricky double apex right hander doesn’t do it justice. Recalling one competitor fall off the track here quite spectacularly earlier in the day helped direct the focus on keeping the Roadster’s carbon-fibre body in one piece and finding the braking-point. Ever stable, the Roadster’s balance through the corner gave no cause for such concern. Turning in on the brakes with a little assistance from Re-Gen had the Roadster sliding neatly in to the apex. Back on the power early again and heading towards the chicane… a quick right, left flick and the I’m on the start-finish straight looking for the flag.

After another two timed runs James has recorded a best of 99.95 seconds for a class win and I finish the day on 101.04 seconds and take second place.

So how did our Tesla Roadster compare on track with the petrol-powered sports cars?

Rather well, as it turns out!

Of the 84 cars on the track that day, our best times put us 25th and 29th in the overall standings – an outstanding result.

Heading back to London in the winning Roadster, I passed some of the other drivers towing their race cars home. The strange looks they gave me suggested they were not expecting to see the Roadster on the road after a day on the track.

At the first set of traffic lights I pull up next to an Aston Martin. The driver, revving its engine, is trying to goad me into a drag race. As tempting as it might be to demonstrate for the second time that day why Newport Pagnell’s finest is no match for 400nm of instant torque, I decide it really isn’t necessary. Tesla isn’t about showing off, it is simply about steering the way to a new future… a new future where cars are as fun and fast as they are clean. A future where the thrill of driving is not compromised in the quest for zero emissions. And as I look at the driver of the Aston Martin as the light turns green, I am reminded that this new future is already here, and I’m driving it!

How many laps can one reasonably expect to run using a Tesla, driving "rookie" all out, on a race track? Like, saaaay, Road Atlanta (2.5 miles long)? I'm talking about an average track day. Thanks! Just wondering if you have any stats on efficiency when driving at the limit.

Jane

6:32am | Apr 23, 2010

wow - that looks amazing!

perrie iles

2:40pm | Apr 23, 2010

I had heard that the airflow around the wheels contributed 20% to the total drag of a car, further i had heard 1 maker using air flow from front to out of the wheel wells to reduce this effect markedly, apparently reducing drag some 10% - as well as other clever features. has anyone there investigated this yet ? - one further point. knowing the elise is quite small,(and knowing the tesla is similar) - would it be possible to produce a mdified GT racer, stripped out, parred down and bulk more batteries with multiple charging points (?) with increased motor and voltage capabilities (?) . What tyres were they using ? - i have seen a couple of reviews that really hated the "eco" tyres that were on. I know i've just switched tyres on my car, it increased consumption 5%- BUT in wet weather the grip is about 80-85% of that in the dry - a big bonus for safety. (think tornado type down pours)
If power rating were increased 100% - then max speed i estimate at 30% higher, with controlled torque at low speed - i could see it moving up from position 30 to position 15 . But again - the driver, if he could risk a shunt, could probably get that up to 10 or so. Another aside is that i really prefer tin-tops , stiffer body, no sun burnt noggin ! (live in Qld Australia - bit like florida i guess) and better aerodynamics . keeping the driver cool might be a problem here.
I used to race a supercharged 1976 mini cooper S 1312cc - it hit 147mph and a 14.8 quarter, regularly embarassing 5 litre V8's - especially as it only weighed 750Kg (fibreglass, stripped out, etc) - 220BHP per ton.
I really look forward to future improvements, and the possibility of a racing variant. - not to mention being available in australia.

Timo

9:13pm | Apr 23, 2010

perrie iles: I think Roadster could get what your mini cooper does just by little longer gear ratio. Roadster top speed is limited by RPM which is set to 14000 and 125mph, and it can get quarter mile in 12 secs. If we add three seconds to quarter mile we get higher top speed.

One thing to consider about this race was that Roadster is _not_ an race car, it is sports car. It (or some EV) can be made quite a bit better for races.

With a bit different set of batteries for more power, little less weight, different suspension, race-tires etc. I bet Roadster could beat all ICE-cars in short race. In long race there is still fuel-problem. Current generation batteries just don't give same range as gas, and "refill" takes a lot longer.

Chris Lee

12:01am | Apr 24, 2010

Seeing the Roadster jump to Warp 8 around 1:18 in the video elicited a few choice, unprintable words from me... I've read about the insane acceleration and the "warp drive" sound, but never have I seen it demonstrated so effectively in such a "clean audio" video... Usually sound of the acceleration is covered up by wind noise, compression artifacts, voiceovers, and so on.... Here, it's just.... wow.

And to hear the engine spool back up to fling the car out of the corners, I could've sworn it was a fighter jet. And then in-between, it's so ghostly smooth and quiet.

Looks like you guys had fun. Thanks for the excellent write up and video.

I saw the two cars in the store just before the event. I didn't realise you were going to *race* them! If I'd have known, I'd have made the trip down to Goodwood to support. Give me a heads up for next time and I'll come and cheer you on :)

JD

1:52pm | Apr 25, 2010

Quite respectable, no doubt!
One question, tho-
has anyone tested the roadster on the Nürburgring?

THAT would be an interesting time to post.
perhaps it might warrant a second look from the jokers over at top gear.
:)

You should'a raced the Aston Martin. I can't tell you how many people were surprised by the EV1, and it was only 1/2 as fast.

I'm a responsible dad these days and need 4 doors. I'm waiting for my Model S.

James Anderson Merritt

11:06pm | Apr 26, 2010

That is an exciting video, though a bit spooky, due to absence of expected race-car engine noise. Indeed, it's like a dream sequence -- a combination of driving and flying fantasy, Thanks for posting it.

G.V.

12:23am | Apr 27, 2010

The sound of an accelerating Roadster is just plain awesome.
Besides that, congrats on the succesful race.

J. Kyle Hepp

7:21pm | Jul 1, 2010

So... As I understand this write-up, these two Tesla Roadsters aren't modified for Racing? Rather, they are two "bone stock" cars just as one would purchase at their local Tesla Retail Store (I really like the sound of that, by the way!)

Not to mention, the driver has no prior experience on this track?!

I'd say that's a pretty admirable job you did in the video!

Now, Am I the only one thinking about how I could modify one of these to run much faster?

Three things strike me as "priority" right off the bat...
Notice the launch. -there is energy being wasted the way the car winds up and suspension work is going to help convert all that energy into motion.
Was this car corner weighed and tuned prior to the laps at Goodwood?

Traction or course, as everyone knows, tires are the largest single improvement (reasonably)
but a stability program would make the car faster on the track AND would provide valuable data for ESP's to be used as safety features on future production models

-The brakes.... -A set of Alcons, AP's even a modified set of 6-pot Brembo Calipers off a Cayenne retrofitted to pinch some 350+mm 2 pc rotors would yield incredible rewards.

And a few questions: Is this car "fly by wire"(throttle) "steer by wire" "brake by wire" or any other "by wire" systems?
A 3 axis accelerometer, a control module and a couple of the redundant circuit Cherry sensors sitting on my workbench, and this could be made to cling to the edge of the envelope in every turn by simply holding the throttle to the floor.

God would I love to have one of these and about another $50k to spend on modifying it!